Hello, everyone! I will be participating in the NEWTs Magical Readathon hosted by Book Roast. As you may remember, I took my OWLs in April, which determined the subjects I would be taking for NEWTs. Naturally, I aimed for the career of Alchemist which had the most prompts. For NEWTs, I have to read 17 books. The grades I need to receive are:
O in Ancient Runes
O in Arithmancy
O in Herbology
O in Potions
O in Transfiguration
E in Astronomy

Ancient Runes:
A: Recommended by a friend – The Farm by Joanne Ramos (recommended by Victoria from What Victoria Read [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF8welRZdU0])
E: Written in past tense – Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell
O: Been on my TBR for ages – The Wettest County in the World by Matt Bondurant

Arithmancy:
A: Ends on an even page number – Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody
E: Standalone – Abandon by Blake Crouch
O: More than 350pgs – Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Astronomy:
A: “Moon” in the title – The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
E: “Night” in the title – Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu
O: (If I have time) Sci-Fi book: This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada

Herbology:
A: An audiobook – All The Ever Afters: The Untold Story of Cinderella’s Stepmother by Danielle Teller
E: Between 350 & 390pgs – Shadowblack by Sebastien de Castell
O: Flower on the Cover – A Tale As Old As Time by Liz Braswell

Potions:
A: Friend’s Favorite Book – The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
E: Cover with Hufflepuff color – The Rule of One by Ashley and Leslie Saunders
O: Book with a prologue – The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kane

Transfiguration:
A: LGBTQIA+ rep – Black Wings Beating by Alex London
E: Not first in a series – Forged by Erin Bowman
O: Over 500pgs – A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin

I’m going to be starting classes for a Master’s in Cybersecurity on August 12 which was a decision officially made in June, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have made such an ambitious TBR. So, we’ll see how many of these I can finish in August.

I have some books to finish before they’re due back to the library in 3 days and like 7 more eARC NetGalley reviews to write, but I’ve decided that participating and getting a TBR together for Ghibliathon is more important.

Follow @Ghibliathon on Twitter for updates and get involved in the conversation. This readathon runs from June 10-16. I’ve coincidentally taken the 13th and 14th off from work, so I figured it was fate.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen
368 pgs
3 Stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:In a world divided by meddlesome gods and treacherous oceans, only the Maarin possess the knowledge to cross the Endless Seas. But they have one mandate: East must never meet West.

A PIRATE WITH A WILL OF IRON

Teriana is the second mate of the Quincense and heir to the Maarin Triumvirate. Her people are born of the seas and the keepers of its secrets, but when her closest friend is forced into an unwanted betrothal, Teriana breaks her people’s mandate so her friend might escape—a choice with devastating consequences.

A SOLDIER WITH A SECRET

Marcus is the commander of the Thirty-Seventh, the notorious legion that has led the Celendor Empire to conquer the entire East. The legion is his family, but even they don’t know the truth he’s been hiding since childhood. It’s a secret he’ll do anything to protect, no matter how much it costs him – and the world.

A DANGEROUS QUEST

When an Empire senator discovers the existence of the Dark Shores, he captures Teriana’s crew and threatens to reveal Marcus’s secret unless they sail in pursuit of conquest, forcing the two into an unlikely—and unwilling—alliance. They unite for the sake of their families, but both must decide how far they are willing to go, and how much they are willing to sacrifice.

I was a little disappointed in this book. I enjoyed it overall, but I was hoping to have a lot more pirate involvement. Teriana is a pirate and is second mate to her mother. Marcus is the commander to the Thirty-Seventh legion. The newly elected senator, Lucius Cassius, forces the Thirty-Seventh legion to capture the Maarin (Teriana’s people) and force them to reveal the location of the secret passage to the western part of the world.
Teriana is the only one willing to save her people’s lives and agrees to show Marcus and his army to the secret passage. There was some action on the seas, but most of the story took part in Celendor, the empire Marcus’ legion is based, and Derin, the kingdom in the western part of the world they are trying to travel to.
I’m also over the prisoner/captor love trope. Though Marcus is basically blackmailed by the senator to escort Teriana to the western world, she is still his prisoner. It’s not as black and white as some other books I’ve read, but I still just don’t enjoy it anymore.

I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys that trope and/or someone just looking for an adventurous badass female character.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Promise by Teresa Driscoll
309 pgs
3 Stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:It was their darkest secret. Three schoolgirls made a promise – to take the horrible truth of what they did to the grave.

Thirty years later, Beth and Sally have tried to put the trauma behind them. Though Carol has distanced herself from her former friends, the three are adamant that the truth must never come to light, even if the memory still haunts them.

But when some shocking news threatens to unearth their dark secret, Beth enlists the help of private investigator Matthew Hill to help her and Sally reconnect with estranged Carol ­– before the terrible act they committed as teenagers is revealed.

Beth wishes she could take back the vow they made.

But somebody is watching and will stop at nothing to ensure the secret stays buried. Now, with her beloved family in peril, can Beth still keep the promise?

I found this book, overall, a bit boring. I felt “the promise” and “the secret” kept being referred to, but I didn’t feel that building of suspense, it was just becoming annoying. When the secret was finally revealed, it felt anticlimactic. The premise of the book is built around this particular secret and as you follow the story, I didn’t feel it was all tied together well. I didn’t understand why certain events happened or what they had to do with the secret.
Towards the end I felt the story got a bit more interesting and there was a revelation that supported the “psychological thriller” aspect, but once again, I didn’t feel it tied in well with the rest of the story.

I gave this book 3 stars because I didn’t hate it, but I felt it was lacking. I would try reading another book by this author in the future.

Hello everyone!! I have been MIA from most social media for the month of May because I READ SO MANY BOOKS. I finished a total of 33 books for May and participated in 3 readathons. For the month of June I need to catch up on my NetGalley reviews and will be participating in #AGameofBooksathon hosted by The Perks of Being Noura.

The first round is held between June 1st and July 1st.

Group Read: A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
The Game of Thrones: First book in a series/trilogy – The Wretched of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler
House Targaryen: Book with a mystical creature or dragons – Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto
Daenerys: Book featuring a strong female character – Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
Westeros: Book set in a fictional place – The Scourge of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler
House Tyrell: Book with a plant on the cover – The Blight of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler
House Stark: Book that has a family dynamic or siblings – The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain
House Lannister: Book with a red cover – Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews
House Greyjoy: Book with pirates or story set at sea – The Assassin’s Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke
House Baratheon: Book with a King or Queen/ Royalty – The Queen’s Poisoner by Jeff Wheeler
A Clash of Kings: Sequel – The Thief’s Daughter by Jeff Wheeler
Wildlings: Paranormal – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

The second round will be from July 2nd to August 1st.

I’ve chosen one book per genre at this time. Some books I’ve requested from the library, so depending on the timing of when I can borrow the book, I may need to change my choices. I’ll also likely just mood read after I’ve finished these initial choices.
Fantasy – Seafire by Natalie C. Parker
Horror – Pines by Blake Crouch
Science Fiction – Taken by Erin Bowman
Historical Fiction – The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
Young Adult – Frozen by Erin Bowman
Middle Grade – The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris
Mystery – Body of Lies by Iris Johansen
Contemporary – L. A. Candy by Lauren Conrad

The third round lasts the rest of the year and the goal is just to finish the rest of the GOT series.

I don’t know if I will finish all the books this year, but I will continue reading the series.

Will you be participating? Let me know what books you’re excited to read this month!

Hello! I’ve been avoiding Twitter and neglecting my blog because I had decided to participate in 3 readathons this month and committed to so many books. One of them is the Ebookathon hosted by @ebookathon taking place May 12 to May 18. Here is a list of my TBR. Some of these books are already on my TBR for the other readathons.

A book set in the future – Day Zero by Kelly DeVos

Nonfiction – Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball

Romance – Bring Me Home by Bree Howland

A book with a lot of buzz – Wilder Girls by Rory Power

A book that will help you grow (I’m cheating a bit with this one and choosing a book that will help me grow…my TBR. I couldn’t find a book that I thought would influence my emotions that strongly, to help me grow as a person.) – Golden Curse by M. Lynn

A short story – Blood Drops by WB Welch

A book with a yellow cover – Recursion by Blake Crouch

Read a book in one day – Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire